Fit | 8 Tips For Effective Workouts

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Raise your (figurative) hand if you either made a new years resolution to get in shape or know someone else who did! If you've made it this far, you've (almost) gotten through the month. But now comes the hard part. Most people who make those resolutions fail as the calendar changes from January to February. Not for you. No, sir (or ma'am).

You might already be meeting your nutrition goals [hmm, maybe by downloading the Fitness and Nutrition Plan (Free Printable)], but there's a lot to be said for whether you'll be able to meet your workout goals.

Here are 8 tips to keep your workouts effective and fun to avoid losing your enthusiasm for working out (because, let's be honest, it can be boring or dreadful if you're not doing it right).

1. Jump Rope.
   Invest $3.99 in a standard issue jump rope and jump rope during commercial breaks. Make sure there aren’t any breakables in the way…
2. Make it a date.
   Work out with someone! It can be the same person every time… or you can have a Monday workout buddy at the Gym, a Wednesday workout buddy to meet for yoga, and a Saturday workout buddy to go for a run… Just make a date with a girlfriend or buddy and commit to it. It’s harder to skip a workout when you know there’s someone waiting for you.
3. Be high maintenance.
   Make your environment enjoyable. When I’m doing a workout video like P90X Yoga or Jillian Michaels’ No More Trouble Zones (Weights), I will set up my fan so that it blows perfectly on me, set out a cup of ice cold water with lemons in it, and light a few candles. Yes, seriously.  The fan keeps me cool and precludes massive amounts of sweat from dripping all over; the lemon in my water cuts down on the crap in your mouth while you work out and also encourages me to drink more of it as I work; the candles make the lighting feel softer and makes working out feel like a special occasion. It should!
4. Get a good warm up.
   Despite your instincts, don’t skip your warm up. Don’t “phone it in,” as Jillian Michaels would say, by half-assing it. If you have a stellar warm up and begin your workout on a good level, it sets the tone for the rest of your workout by getting you focused and in the zone. When you’re working out with a friend (see number 2), you might be tempted to half-ass the warm up while you finish talking about what Suzy said at work yesterday or why you think you need new glasses… don’t. Like any good date, you need boundaries. This is one of them. When the workout starts, especially at the beginning, you both get in the zone. That’s not to say that talking is prohibited – it’s not – but make sure your focus is the workout first, talking second.
5. Eat breakfast.
   Really. By doing this, you will see the results of your workouts much faster. It fires up your metabolism at the beginning of the day so that your body begins chomping through those calories starting from the first hour of your day. My philosophy is Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Peasant, Dinner like a Beggar. That would be an inverse triangle. Consume more calories earlier in the day to get your body in fat-burning mode and keep from getting too hungry later on as a result of lack of calories (how many of you have thought you were doing a good job all day by half starving yourself, only to reach 8pm and suddenly turn into a snack monster?).
6. Confuse yourself.
   Well, your muscles, that is. Don’t do the same workout every day. Include various types of exercise. Include cardiointerval training, weight training, and yoga.  Stick in a day of boxing here and there.
7. Get hyped 
   ...for your workouts by doing a 4 minute Tabata workout before you begin. This high-intensity workout leaves you full of energy and ready to attack your next workout.
8. Watch T.V....but not from the couch! Try this cardio circuit while watching a T.V. show to keep it fun and get in a good workout while watching your favorite show.